Sunday, December 20, 2009

going hard on the trainer, or hardly going?

A boring appropriation of a tired joke; That's somewhat akin to the actual act of riding the trainer. If it weren't for the precision of training afforded by this method, the monotony of it would surely end my career on psychological grounds.


Tuesday, December 8, 2009

For Sale: 2008 Madone .52 Pro 58cm

Full Ultegra SL Gruppo.
Bontrager Race Lite Wheel (Regular front, Aero rear)
Bontrager Race Lite Stem and Handlebar.
Bontrager Race X Lite InForm Saddle.
Ultegra SL pedals.
Race Lite Cages.
RXL AC 23c tires.
Great condition, never crashes. Once cosmetic scratch on right of downtube.
$2000 OBO.

All Better!

It took about a week to get over my lovely little cold. And I'll admit, large volumes of alcohol compromie the immune system, so it's my own fault. I was being lazy and stupid in the off-season. I did, however, end up with a net weight loss of 2.5 lbs. Yeah, party!

Back at it, I did 45 minutes at tempo Monday the 7th, as well as my sit-ups. Today, the 8th, I'll be doing an hour at tempo while watching Lost on DVD. Coach says I can ride however much I want whenever I want (as long as it totals 5 hours weekly) until January 1st, which is when I'll start structured training. My coach is awesome. My coach is Aaron Whalen.

I'm not sure I've addressed my seasonal plan for the year, so here goes:
A-priority races: Rhinelander, Eau Claire, Chequamegon.
B-Priority: Sheboygan, Subaru Cup, Franklin.

Still waiting to hear on team things for next year, so in the mean time I'm working on a Google Calendar of the WORS season, as well as what will be a team Google calendar for the year.

Illin’ and eatin’

Date: 12/04/09
Weight: 155!

Breakfast: Latte
Lunch: Half of a freezer pizza, Orange juice
Dinner: PBJ,
Snacks:

Workout:

Notes:

Since my post on my dietary challenges, I’ve gotten lots of offers of help. This is awesome. Obviously, I’m not the only one who has a hard time with diet (America, I’m looking at you and your 32% childhood obesity rate). But for this discussion let’s consider the athletes I know and with whom I pop wheelies.

My coach is currently trying to drop a few in order to fine tune his performance. He’s already a successful cat. 1 roadie in Boulder, but losing weight safely will help him out as he’s naturally built with a bit more muscle mass than most cyclists. The Gehling is hoping to cut some weight so that (he’s not such a fatty) he can move up the cat. 1 ranks. As for me, I’ve never really considered my diet very carefully as part of my training, and usually carry 5-10 lbs more than necessary. But now I need to look at all the variables in my racing, because next year I play on the big kids’ playground. And I want to rock out.

The diet plan is still on the way, but in the mean time I learned one of the worst ways to lose weight: I got a nasty cold this week and it took almost 5 lbs out of me. Naturally, some of that was water weight, but I also completely lost my appetite. Super duper.
So I haven’t ridden or done sit-ups. I have, however, had a ton of water and vitamins and naps. I’m getting fairly pro at napping.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

trainer rides, and being a fatty-fatty-fat-fat.

I've been riding the trainer about four hours a week, lately. It will ramp up once the coach and I can meet to discuss specific plans, but for now I'm playing video games and cleaning the bike fleet.

As the off-season has hit, I've tried to make it more of a transition season, but this has proven difficult. I've never raced a year as seriously as this past one, though I'm used to taking an entire month completely off of the bike. Also, in winter, my diet usually goes to hell, and I lose quite a bit of the fitness I'd gained as I pack on a few kilos. While I still eat way too much for the small training volume I'm doing, I've found a few keys to keeping semi-fit; They mostly involve trying new things.

This year I've managed to keep riding occasionally by getting a cyclocross bike and mixing up the training. In terms of motivation to ride, this new type of riding has been the biggest key to my success. Rail trails might not be the most exciting riding, but I've only ever ridden them a few times in the past, so it's something new. Cross bikes are a great way to explore south-central Wisco, and we've gotten some awesome group rides going as a result.

Now I'm transitioning to the trainer due to the mercury drop in the last few weeks. I've some frostbite damage in my fingertips from riding all winter in Mpls, so I can't ride outside much past freezing. G&C have a nice trainer studio setup, complete with projection movies and obese felines. I've also managed to improve my trainer setup by using my CX bike and buying a new television.

The greatest challenge I have in training (not just in the transition seaosn, but always) is my diet. My upbringing didn't include much nutritional education, so I've had to teach myself how to eat healthily. The three areas I've been working on are content, volume, and timing.

I know not to eat fast food, and have gotten better this eyar about packing lunches when I go to work to avoid grabbing Taco Bell (my dietary Achilles' heel). A healthy lunch is easy to make, in part because one can plan and choose ahead of time. Going out and making dinner at home when one is tired from a day at work are where it gets tricky. I've been known to eat a large bowl of salsa with chips and have a tall glass of chococlate soymilk for dinner because I didn't feel motivated to make a healthy meal.

Packing a lunch for work also lets once control the volume of the meal. The bigger challenge comes when going out with friends or making dinner myself. Most portions for hommade meals are made to be split into two or three meals, but it's easy to eat an entire container of Macaroni and cheese in one sitting. Listening to how hungry my body is before I start eating, as well as planning meals ahead of time (even if it just involves thinking about dinner o the way home) help greatly.

Lastly, I'm a nighttime snacker. The calories I eat just before bed are the most wasteful, and avoiding that last snack is a strictly disciplinary measure. I also need to make sure I eat filling food for dinner. Not a high-volume dinner, but one that will make me feel full enough for a few more hours. And if I need a snack, I shouldn't drive to Taco Bell for a Crunchwrap Supreme.

With those three ideas in mind, I'm developing a diet plan that should help me maintain my goal weight for next year's racing season: 150 lbs. I raced this year at 155, and between September and now have put on four more. I need to safely cut almost 10 lbs before May, and I'm going to set my Spring training trip (in May) as a halfway goal.


More on eating like a bike racer coming soon.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

beautiful November weather

Date:11/21/09

Weather: Sunny and 40

Weight: 158.5

Breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese

Lunch: Snickers, honey roasted peanuts, MOJO bar

Dinner: Smoky John’s hamburger and potato salad

Snacks: a beer.

Workout: Rode to Belleville and back on the Hater with Abby, Gehling, and Claire.

Notes: We left at ten thirty with the intention of riding to New Glarus via the Hater. An incomplete multi-surface trail, the Hater is formally known as the Badger State trail. The first few miles leaving town and going south have yet to be completed and are ATV-style trail following an old train corridor. After an encounter with some dog poo, Abby turned back. The rest of us carried on and rode through the tunnel. It was totally metal. GEhling had a PROTOTYPE backpack along, so we made more clothing changes than Lady Gaga at the MTV awards.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

back on the bike, but mostly inside

Date: 11/17/09

Weather: Sunny and 45!

Weight: 157.5

Breakfast: Latte, Zucchini muffin (man it was good, but you could taste the butter!)

Lunch: ½ Chipotle Burrito

Dinner: Salmon pasta in a wine sauce at the Greenbush bar and restaurant.

Snacks:

Workout: commuter ride in and home, 100 sit-ups

Notes:


Date:11/18/09

Weather: 35 and rainy

Weight: 160.5

Breakfast: Cinnamon Scone and coffee. water

Lunch: other half of a chipotle burrito. Chips, guac

Dinner:

Snacks: GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!

Workout: 1 hour on the trainer, 100 sit-ups

Notes:


Date: 11/19/09

Weather: rainy and 45

Weight: 160

Breakfast: Quaker Oat Squares, milk, Latte, V8

Lunch: Turkey and Mashed potatoes. OJ

Dinner:

Snacks: chips and salsa. Banana.

Workout: 1 hour on the trainer and 100 sit-ups.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Most parts are gone

Except the frame, fork, headset and stem. $100 and it's delivered in Madison.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Parts for sale

My commuting bike from last winter (sans drivetrain) is probably the biggest thing listed here, and then there are some odds and ends. Here is the parts spec for it. If you want the entire thing, I’ll sell it for $250. Otherwise, the price listed next to each part is the asking price for just that part. All prices OBO, as the bike has some corrosion from a winter of riding. But hey, it's a winter cross commuter.

Frame: Nashbar aluminum cyclocross frame in a size 56. 130mm rear hub spacing. Comes with a disc-only fork, headset, non-QR seatpost collar and stem. 27.2 seat tube internal diameter. ($150)

Seatpost: Bontrager RXL carbon 27.2 x250($10)

Handlebar: Bontrager select flatbar. ($10)

Wheels: 700c/29” Bontrager Select disc (135mm rear hub spacing). ($80)

Brakes: Avid BB7 ATB disc brakes with Avid roundagon disc rotors. ($20)

Brake levers: Tektro ($10/pair)

Tires: Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase 700x35c ($10 each)

Saddle: Bontrager select Black ($10)

Another wheelset I have for sale is a pair of 26” Sun Ditch Witch rims on Shimano Deore 6-bolt disc hubs. Come with no-name rotors and cassette, as well as some slightly used Bontrager Earl tires. ($80)

catch-up

I store my training journal locally. This is an upload from the past few weeks.

Date: 11/01/09

Weather:

Weight:

Breakfast:

Lunch:

Dinner

Snacks:

Workout:

Notes: Ankle almost better, still stiff



Date: Monday 11/02/09

Weather:

Weight:

Breakfast: Cracker Barrel pancakes, eggs, bacon.

Lunch: Chicken kebob with peppers, mushrooms, pilaf, juice and water

Dinner:

Snacks:

Workout:

Notes: I was at Trek Business School in Waterloo all day



Date: Tuesday 11/03/09

Weather:

Weight:

Breakfast: Whole Wheat Bagel and a Latte

Lunch: Shrimp Jambalaya, pasta salad

Dinner: Nachos

Snacks:

Workout: None

Notes: 2nd day of Trek Business School and I was totally exhausted after getting home. I had some nachos and went to the first team meeting. When I got home at 9:30 I went straight to bed.



Date: Wednesday 11/04/09

Weather: Sunny, 45

Weight: 157 (I got a scale!)

Breakfast: Latte, Wheaties, OJ, grapes

Lunch: Banana, Carrots, grapes, water

Dinner: Chicken Pesto sandwich, salad, balsamic dressing

Snacks: Milk Duds (8)

Workout: Rode to work and back. Approximately 8 miles roundtrip.

Notes: My ankle is feeling good enough to ride on. No pain, just a bit stiff in the mornings and loosens up as the day goes on.



Date: 11/05/09

Weather: Sunny and 40s

Weight: 157

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Coffee, grapes

Lunch: hummus and carrots on whole wheat bread, grapes (I got some awesome grapes at the new Hy-Vee), craisins.

Dinner:

Snacks:

Workout: riding to work, sit-ups

Notes:



Date: 11/11/09

Weather: 45 and Sunny!

Weight: 152? Maybe I’m a little dehydrated.

Breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese, latte, OJ

Lunch: yogurt, carrots, plum

Dinner: Glass Nickel with banana peppers and pepperoni, red bull

Snacks:

Workout: 1.5 hours on the MTB trails on my CX bike.

Notes: It felt good to get back out riding with a normal ankle. While it was a bit stiff after the ride, my foot loosened up with a bit of walking and stretching. The season-end burnout I’d experienced has subsided and I’ve been riding to work more than driving, as well as riding the CX bike around town and taking whatever paths I encounter.

This exploration type of cycling has done a few things for me. First, it’s created a new kind of cycling that I haven’t done since I first moved to Minneapolis. Discovering a new place via bicycle allows you to cover greater distances than walking, and affords a greater level of interaction than driving. Meeting Madison via bicycle is a great experience.

Another fun aspect of riding the CX bike around town is that it’s a casual approach to base-building training. I’m not going to do any directed training until December or January, but keeping in shape is important.



Date: 11/14/09

Weather: Sunny, 40s

Weight: 159 (After lots of hydrating, I’m back to normal)

Breakfast: Just coffee and water.

Lunch: Tur-duck-en, mashed potatoes,

Dinner: Toast with jam

Snacks:

Workout: none

Notes: Today was the Lake Family Thanksgiving celebration. Since John is having hip surgery Monday and we won’t be having a normal Thanksgiving, John and Cindy (my parents) had all of their long-time vacation friends to Madison for a Tur-duck-en. Yes, that’s a chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey, and it’s amazing. I restricted myself to one small portion of each item I tried, but was still full enough after the dinner that I had toast with jam around 7 and just drank water the rest of the day.

I will call today day 1 of eating healthy again.



Date:11/15/09

Weather: Sunny, high of 50

Weight:158.9

Breakfast: Oatmeal, brown sugar, banana, coffee.

Lunch: chicken stir-fry

Dinner: Coffee, water, small bean burrito with tomatoes and onions. Mango orange juice.

Snacks: a beer!

Workout: Rode to work and took the long way home. Maybe 15 miles total riding? No hard efforts, just cruising. 100 sit-ups.

Notes: Soon I’ll be printing up lists of my goals for next year. I’ll print three; one for my bathroom wall above the scale, one for on the refrigerator, and one for right by my bedroom door. I’m also going to be putting racing pictures up around my house. I find these keep me motivated when the first race of the year is 7 months away. Racing goals will be on there, as well as a few other life-type-goals I have. So far this year I’ve reached all of my goals except two. One of those goals was to win the Subaru Cup overall for my age group.

I’m working on a Google calendar of the WORS races. Hopefully I can get that published this week. Google Calendar is an awesome tool that I use daily and it keeps things nicely organized in a visual way that I love. My training, racing, and work calendars are all on it and I can access it from anywhere.

To digress: I overhauled my Procaliber and pulled a bunch of leaves out of the cassette before running it through the parts washer. After replacing some housing and the drivetrain cables, it should be ready for a few winter rides.



Date: 11/16/09

Weather: sunny, 50

Weight: 158.5

Breakfast: Wheaties, coffee, OJ

Lunch: Chicken bacon spinach wrap

Dinner: n/a

Snacks: Lots of water!

Workout: 2 hour spin on the cross bike, 100 sit-ups.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

train hard, recover harder

The biggest thing I learned from my coach at Minnesota was how to recover. Getting faster is about recovery. When you're on a rest day, you need to rest. Sit on your bum, play video games, drink a ton of water, and let your body rebuild.

This also applies to those time one gets sick during the season. When a cold is coming on, learn to recognize it and and stay off the bike. Sit on your bum, play video games, drink a ton of water, and let your body rebuild.

When you're injured, let your body rebuild as fast as it can. Do NOT ride. Sit on your bum, play video games, drink a ton of water, and let your body rebuild.

Catch my drift?

Today I'm recovering from an odd ankle injury that I never saw coming. After Sunday's epic ride to Blue Mounds I had a stiff right ankle. Monday morning it was really hurting and walking was painful.

THEREFORE: I stayed off of my right leg and kept it elevated. I did not ride. I did not walk. I did light stretching that wouldn't engage my right ankle, and I did my situps.

Today (Tuesday) it feels much better, just stiff. While missing the beautiful weather is frustrating, prolonging an injury is even worse.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

End of break

My leg is finally feeling better, and it's been two weeks since Sheboygan. My trainer has arrived, and next Monday is the end of daylight savings. I've finished reading the Training Bible, and will soon be done with my first nutrition book. Other than one night of light spinning, I haven't been on th ebike since Sheboygan.

It is time to begin training for next year.

I've never started training this early, and while I'm not going to ramp it up for a month or two, I will be spinning 4 or 5 days a week, just to avoid putting on any extra weight. When it's nice I'll ride outside.

My eating has already changed a bit, and early and mid-day meal portions have shrunken to accommodate the lower number of calories burned, but I still have my lifelong bad habit of pigging out later at night. Perhaps meal planning will help me avoid that.

I've never felt so motivated this late in the season. Between this year's successes, my category upgrade, and my preliminary team plan for next year (which I cannot discuss quite yet), I've already generated goals for the off-season. While my training goals are a bit more abstract for the next few months, they'll become more concrete as we approach Spring.

Off-season goals:
1. Learn about nutrition. This may seem vague, but I've never known much about nutrition and tend to eat things that make my other mom (Denise Whalen) cringe. Beyond eating fruits and veggies and avoiding sugar and fast food, I don't know much.
2. Keep riding weight below 160 (normally I jump from 155 in-season to 165 off-season).
3. Purchase a Powertap and learn to train with power.
4. Learn about racing with the big kids from those who do it.

Next season's specific goals:
1. One top 15 finish in a WORS event.
2. A top 25 overall finish in WORS.
3. A top 75 finish at Chequamegon.

Less specific in-season goals:
1. Attend 10 WORS events.
2. Attend the Tuesday night time trials at Franklin.
3. Attend two large non-WORS MTB races, such as an MNSCS or Michigan event. Maybe SBF.

I'll soon be posting retrospective pieces about my races from this year. Writing is how I think about things, and I think it will help me process some of the less obvious skills I've learned from this year.

gettin loose

Date: 10/22/09 Thursday

Weather: Rainy/44

Weight:

Breakfast: Hazelnut scone, latte, OJ

Lunch: Yogurt, banana, carrots, granola

Dinner: Burger, fries, beer

Snacks: none

Workout: sit-ups, no riding.

Notes:

Date:10/23/09

Weather: 45/rainy

Weight:?

Breakfast: Latte, Scone, OJ

Lunch: don’t’ recall

Dinner: A Dotty’s burger.

Snacks: Beer. Lots of beer.

Workout: no workouts.

Notes: Went out Friday night with Geo and some other peeps. Long night. Not a training-friendly time, but definitely fun.

Date:10/24/09

Weather: 60, sunny

Weight:

Breakfast: Black coffee, pineapple, Cool Beans Classic Burrito

Lunch: Pasta Fresca

Dinner: Homemade nachos, light on the cheese

Snacks:

Workout: Sit-ups, no riding

Notes: See previous days’ activities. No riding today. Definitely not.